ben138•7mo ago

My entire greenhouse almost died because of a single broken timer

Last Thursday, the automatic watering system in my little greenhouse just stopped. I didn't notice until Saturday morning when my 12 tomato seedlings were completely wilted and my prized orchid's buds had dropped. The cheap timer I bought for $20 failed after only 4 months, leaving everything bone dry for nearly 48 hours. I spent the whole weekend doing emergency soaks and hoping for the best, but I'm pretty sure I lost at least half the tomatoes. Has anyone else had a cheap timer totally fail on them and what brand did you switch to?

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3 Comments

the_uma7mo ago

Oh man that's brutal, I'd be so mad. Did the timer just stop ticking or did it fail in the on position and flood something? I've had both happen and they're equally awful for different reasons.

4

price.zara7mo ago

Honestly it makes me never want to trust a timer again. My old one failed off, so the plants just dried out completely. Came home to a crispy wasteland. Took me weeks to get over the guilt, like I'd murdered them through bad tech. Now I just do it manually because the stress isn't worth it.

1

nathanbailey6mo ago

My timers have been solid for years, knock on wood.

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